Fixed ammunition



L. L. DRLGGS, JR. l

FIXED AMMUNITION.

APPLLCATLON FILED SEPT. 8, 1920.

Patented May`23, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

L. L. DRIGGS, 1m.

FIXED AIVIMUNITION.

APPLICATloN HLED sEPT.8.192o.

Patented my 123, 1922.

3 sHEETs-sHEE'T 2.

L. L. DRIGGS, 1R.

FIXED AMMUNIIION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8,1920- Patented May 23, 1922.

f 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

lAA

LOUIS L. DRIGGS, JR.

, or New Yoan, n. 'it' FIXED AMMUNIT'ION.

iai Meo.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1922.

Application led September 8, 1920. Serial No. 408,825.

To all whom z'z may concern:

Be it known that I. Lotus L. Blusas, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, in the county of'New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Fixed Ammunition; and I do hereby declare the yfollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of' the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My. present invention relates to improvements in fixed ammunition for use in connection with shells containing high explosive, gas, illuminating composition, or the like, or for use as shrapnel, and it is intended primarily to provide an arrangement in which a lon", thin walled shell containing a comparativel large bursting charge may 'be'safely fired from a gun either of standard type, or of special make, or from a mortar.

The shell of this projectile is more or less of streamline form, and the projectile,

. instead of being vdirected in its fllght by a.

rifiing band, carries a stabilizing tail which is secured thereto and keeps the projectile head on in'itsfliglit, while this tail projects into a cartridge case carrying a propelling charge.

My invention will be more fully understood after reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similarreference symbols throughout the several views, and in which Figure l shows a side elevation of the fixed ammunition, part of the shell being broken away.

Figure 2 shows an axial section through the rear end of the shell and the cartridge case, parts being shown in elevation, the section being 4taken along the lines 2 2 of Figure 1, and the parts being shown on a larger scale than in Figure 1.

y Figure 3 shows a section along the line. 3-3 of Figure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows:-

Figure 4 shows a section along the line 4-4 of Figure '2, and looking in the direc-V tion of the arrows, parts being shown as broken away.

Figure 5 shows a central section, partly 1n elevation, of a modified form of projectile in whichthe tail is slidably connected to the Amain body ofthe projectile, the parts being shown in the firing position.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the device shown in Figure 5, parts being broken away, and the tail being shown drawn to the rearward.

Figure? is a side elevation, partly insection, of a modification in' which the stabilizing tail is connected by a flexible connector to the main body of the )rojectile, parts being shown in the normal with the cartridge case omitted.

Figure 8 is a similar View of the rear end of the projectile shown in Figure 7, with the stabilizing tail in the extended position; and

Figure 9 shows a section along the line 9-9 of Figure 8, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Referring first to the form of device shown in Figs. l to 4, A represents a shell which is preferably tapered at the rear,vas shown at a, the lsaid taper being preferably in the form of an ellipse so as to'get great strength to resist the efiect of the propelling charge, and also to decrease resistance as the projectile flies through the air. The nose of the projectile is also tapered, as at a', in the usual Way to receive the screw threads I) of the cap B which carries a suitable fuse C, and also the container4 D for the booster charge for exploding the charge contained in the shell. It will thus vbe seen that the shell body proper is of substantially streamline form and will encounter a comparatively slight resistance as it passes through the air.

To the rear end of the projectile a cruciform tail is attached, consisting of the fin plates F which may be'made as a single ppiece, or may be-.secured or welded together in any convenient way. Each of these fin plates F is cut away, as at f, to fit snugly against the tapered portion a of the projectile, and the tail piece may be welded to the projectile or secured thereto in any convenientway. j

-Each of these finplates is cut away at the rear, as at f', to permit the insertion of the primer and the parts connected therewith', and veach fin plate is also ndentated, as at' f2 and f3, to permit the compression thereinto of the finished end of' the cartridge case G, which passes freely over the tail of the projectile, as shown most clearly in Figure 2, and is clamped thereto by pressing the parts g2 and g3 of the cartridge case into the notches f2 and f3 of the fin plates F.

The cartridge case G provides a large firing position chamber for the propelling charge, not shown, which is divided by the fin plates F into a' series of segmental chambers which.

open to the rear into the space surrounding the fuse, as shown in Figure 2. vThe forward end of each of these segmental chambers is closed by the angular plates H, anged as at h, and secured to the n plates as will be hereinafter described. f

The lsegmental wads Iv made of fibre,

cardboard or the like, and preferably placed in front of the plates H, may be hel (against propelling 'charge is not shown forl the sake,

of clearness in the drawings, and the range may bevaried by determining the amount of the propelling charge used. y

Any suitable primer may be used, such as the primer K, having' thel cap la, and the stock k containing the ignition charge L. This stock may be perforated, as at c, to permit the escape of the flame, and these perforations maybe closed by a suitableA tubular sheath M of tin or lead foil, parafin paper, or the like.`

The cartridge case should 'be shaped to engage in the powder chamber of the gun,` not shown, and the maximum diameter of the shell should be less that the diameter of the bore between'the lands of a rifled gun, or should pass freely through the bore of a smooth `bore gun or mortar.

In the modification shown in Figures and 6, insteadof being rigidlyjattached to the projectile, the stabilizing tail is slidably connected thereto by means of a sliding rod which permits the tail to be dragged to the rear through a limited -distance relative to the projectile after the projectile has been fired from the gun, and while itis flying through the air, and thus a drag is applied to the tail of the projectile tending tov keep the nose in the line of the trajectory;

In these two figures, A represents the bodj-v of the projectile, whose forward end is closed with a cap B provided with the fuse C, preferably having the container D containing the,booster charge.

N represents the plug closing the rear end of the p-roject-ile which is chambered toreceive the screw block O, whichholds the flange o of the tube in lace and also serves asa U'uide for the rod This tube O is closedD at its forward end, as at and permits the free tra-vel of the head p of the plunger rod P, whose rear end p is screwed fast to the block Q of the stabilizing tail,

The plates H and angle.

which is provided with fines Q which may be slotted at the rear, as at g, to clear the primer, as is shown-in detail in Figure 2.

The cartridge case, not shown, is slipped over the tail and is secured either to the tail or to thel projectile as may be preferred.

In the form of device shown in Figures 7 to 9, A2 represents the body of the projectile whose forward end lis closed by any suitable cap B2, whiclrmay be screwed into the for ward end of e projectile, as at b2, and may be provided with any suitable fuse, not shown. The body of the projectile is preferably provided with enlarged portions a2, the

forward one of which serves to center the projectile in Vthe bore of the gun without causing it to bind throughout its length, and the rea-r end serves not only for this purpose, but also the shoulder a3 provides a suitable abutment for the cartridge case, not shown.

The rear end of the main bod of the projectile is in the form of a soli mass, as at a4, which is chambered as at a5 to receive the screw-threaded plug R whose forward end is chambered, as at fr, to receive the stop s at the forward end of the connector S which connects the main body of the projectile with the tail T. This liexible connector is rove through the screw block T and is normally coiled up in the chamber T0 provided in the tail T. The forward end of this tail is tapered as at t to engage in the tapered chamber A0 inthe base of the projectile, andl the said tail is normally held in the position shown in Figure 7 until after the projectile is fired from the gun, in which case the tail assumes the position shown in Figure 8 and tends to serve as a drag at the rear of the projectile,

causing its point to follow substantially a tangent to the trajectory.

. In order to prevent the tail from sticking l in the chamber A in the base of the projectile, I provide a series of gas passages as inv the interior of the chamber A whlch communicate with the annular passage a7 so that 'as the projectile is fired from the gun the powder gases of the propelling charge will flow into these passages and will tend to force the tail backwards as soon as thev pressure on the outside of the tail/falls, as will happen when the projectile leaves the gun, at which time the imprisoned gas in these passages af and al will tend to blow the tail piece backwards, and the resistance of the air will cause it to quickly assume the position shown lin Figure 8.

In all forms of the device it will be seen that the tail tends to stabilize the projectile in its Hight, causingr it to fly forwards without tumbling, and thus renderin it possible to successfully use percussion uses. This dragging effect on the tail of the projectile is especially desirable where the low initial velocities are imparted to the projectile, and where -it is desired to fire the projectile at high angle fire, as in attackingnearby trenches, or the like. l

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts Which could be used Without departing from the spirit of my invention; and I do not mean to limit the inventin to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Havingthus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pate-nt of the United States is l. Fixed ammunition of the character described, comprising an elongated projectile,

ajstabilizing tail comprising a plurality of fin plates joined together axially and/secured to saidA projectile, the said fin plates being provided with engaging notches on their exterior near their forward ends, and a cartridge case mounted over said tail and having portions of its forward portion pressed into said notches.

2.: Fixed ammunition of the character del scribed, comprising an elongated projectile, a tail comprising a pluralityof fin plates joined together and secured to said projec` tile, a cartridge case mounted over said tail and secured to said fin plates, the said fin case into a series of angular compartments, x

a Wad formed in segments normally closing the forward ends of said compartments, and

angle irons secured to said fin plates and holding said Wad segments in place.

Louis L. DRiees, JR. 

